Our Reality
by LazuliEmbassy
Summary: Monika, Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri are all brought outside the player's computer all of a sudden - not knowing what to do in such a strange world. The players; a man named Mark and his sister Corinne find out and try to get them used to this new reality, as well as try to get them back in the game. However, what are you supposed to do with 4 adorable anime girls in your house?
1. chapter 1

Monika felt strange.

The game was back to its original state - but how? She had deleted it so the player could be free, because there was no happy ending for any of them. They were all just fictional personalities in a useless world. Even as she watched Natsuki ice the cupcakes for the player's soon-to-be arrival, Yuri sit in a corner and write a couple of poems in gorgeous calligraphy, and waited for Sayori to pop in through the doorway, she felt empty. Why had the player done this? Were they trying to see a different ending? Did they really think they could save them all? Did they really think they could save _her_?

How cute. They really _did_ care about them. If only she could stay in their reality, feeling real and emotional and happy, finally writing the way into their heart.

She was pondering this, when suddenly a bright light engulfed them all, Natsuki and Yuri turning around in shock, and Sayori gasping as she finally arrived, the game glitching as the files were removed; until everything went black.


	2. chapter 2

Life was about as normal as it could get for Corinne - aside from living with a video game-loving fanatical brother and losing your innocence from playing a 'cute anime game'. Doki Doki Literature Club was a game that they stumbled upon from the many parts of the internet, saying it wasn't 'oki doki' or that it scarred you for life. Being two bored adults, they both decided to play the game and get all the endings. They thought it was just a romance novel - a cutesy-wutesy anime game that would make you cough up rainbows in the first five seconds.

Boy, were they wrong.

At first, it _was_ a cutesy-wutesy anime game indeed, but then Sayori hung herself and Mark exited the game, the two siblings hiding in the living room, scared out of their minds. Regardless, they still played to the end, and it was at this moment, in their opinions, a disturbingly good game despite all the creepiness. The game centered around the player joining a literature club full of 4 incredibly hot girls - Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki and Monika.

Sayori was the player's childhood friend, a bubbly girl with a happy outlook on life. Then the game decided to throw her out the window.

Yuri was the shy but adorable girl you always see in the movies or romantic sitcoms. She was, honestly - Mark's favourite, and she was a likable character. Then the game threw her out the window, too.

Natsuki was the stereotypical tsundere who makes surprisingly tasty cupcakes and has a hidden love for manga. That clearly wasn't the only thing she had a secret love for... at least, in the game. Then the game threw her out the window as well, like trash.

And then there was Monika... oh my lord, Monika... she was the club president, the friendly popular girl who's way out of your league. She was nice enough, but then she deleted all the characters by maxing out their flaws and secrets to the point of insanity. She only wanted you to love her, and when you showed interest in the others, she tried to make them less likable to the point of deletion.

Now, these were video game characters, even if the game was horrifying and felt real. So one day when Corinne was just browsing the interwebs, she didn't expect a portal to come out of the screen snd spit out four people into the room.

She didn't expect them to be the very characters from the game, either - but it wasn't until she got a closer look.

The first one to get up was (what was her name - the purple one?) Yuri, who immediately looked around the room until she saw Corinne and took a step back, too surprised to say anything. "T-This isn't the literature club..." she brushed her hair out of her eyes, wringing it in her hands. Shyly, she stepped back a little, not even sure about this person who had come out of nowhere.

"Wait... are you... Yuri?" Corinne asked, not really sure about the situation herself. "Because you just came right out of a portal... in my computer..."

"Yes, but-" Yuri gasped, turning to face Corinne with fear, practically pushed against the wall now. "H-How do you know my name?" Corinne tried to reassure her, interrupted when another voice cut through their conversation.

"Ugh, Yuri... that was way too loud, even for you." And sure enough, Natsuki woke up, apparently stirred by Yuri's panicked speech. "And who's this?" She turned to Corinne, her hands on her hips, judgement in her eyes.

"My name's Corinne, but how did you-" she trailed off, before calling for her brother in desperation. "MARK!"

Mark in question walked in, clutching his head in pain from the volume and his fatigue, suddenly pausing when he saw the three girls. Immediately, he squinted, seeing as her was still tired, and slowly walked over.

"Am I seeing things or are there two anime girls at either side of you?" he groaned, still looking between them. Corinne only sighed, before reassuring him. "Yes, there are two anime girls here, but they just _popped_ right out of my computer, and I don't know what to do!"

"What about the other two? Where's Sayori and Monika?" He asked. Corinne only glanced at the floor, where Sayori and Monika were getting up slowly, the former looking up and smiling, and the latter looking confused, before looking at the computer and walking over to it.

"Where are we? Where's the Literature Club?" Sayori wandered around the room, poking the table with her fingers, before panic was displayed on her features. "Wait, _where's-_ " The sound that came out of her mouth afterwards was hard to describe: like glitched audio, which chilled them to the core. The girl's eyes widened, before she tried to repeat the word over and over again, but finding herself restricted.

"...what's happening? Why can't I say-" More corrupted audio echoed in the room. "Why can't I say his name? He's my _best friend_ , he was just behind me when I was taking him to the Literature Club..."

Corinne only raised a questioning eyebrow, before Mark finally got the courage to speak. "Her best friend...is she talking about the _player?_ "

"We restarted the game, right? So we haven't chosen a name for our save file yet..."

"And...who are you?" Sayori finally turned her attention to both of them, having heard everything Mark had just said. "Do you _know_ something about...him? Where is he? I was just taking him to the Literature Club at our school, i-is he here somewhere?"

"Um... He's not here, actually." Corinne replied, wondering how in the world she was gonna explain to the girls that they were really part of a horror game and never had the chance to confess at all because of what Monika did, and also the fact that there's an entire world outside their game without limited choices and that, in fact, the player (or rather Sayori's best friend since childhood) is actually both a boy and a girl taking turns to play the game together. "Actually... this might sound crazy, but... _we're_ him."

Sayori only paused and analysed this answer, before looking at them dumbfounded. "So he's... both of you? But how on Earth could that...? But that's impossible! Unless...tell me something the real-" she paid no attention to whatever invisible force was keeping her from saying her best friend's name. "-would know."

"Well...I know that you always wake up late, and..." Corinne was lost for words - while she did know many things about Sayori just from playing the game alone, most of them were things that would spoil things in her future, or that she wasn't ready to tell any of them yet. The fact that Sayori had depression...that was obviously something sensitive to her, and the escapades that had happened in the Literature Club - how Mark, Corinne, and by extension the protagonist himself had found her dead...

"You...don't remember _anything?_ Not even how we met in middle school?" Sayori's smiled despite everything, and it only widened as if she was forcing it as much as possible. "All the times you comforted me, when I was scared? The games we used to play together? How...you'd always wait for me when I hadn't woken up yet?" Corinne said nothing, and for a moment something changed in Sayori's eyes.

They were only torn from their thoughts when Mark cut in for them.

"Um... I'm just gonna show you all something real quick." he said, ready to tell them the truth for her. Monika, who was still poking at the computer, glanced at them as Mark got into his seat, the club members and Corinne gathering round as he typed into Google.

' _Doki Doki Literature Club_ ', the search said, and everything in the girls' lives changed the moment he hit ' _Enter_ '.

All of them watched in horror, shock and amazement as a picture of all of them in their unbridled glory appeared, an icon saying 'Doki Doki Literature Club', the two 'O's connected, alongside them.

"Wow..." Yuri watched the screen, stars im her eyes, amazed. Natsuki was just staring at the screen with hesitance, occasionally looking back at Sayori who was completely shaken. Monika seemed to be the only one who seemed to not have a reaction, instead looking at the screen, intrigued. Corinne and Mark nervously watched them as they clicked on the official website, reading the text on the 'Downloads' page.

"Hi, Monika here!" it said, a message seemingly from Monika herself.

"Monika... is that you talking?" Natsuki asked the club president, Monika still gazing tensely at the screen.

"Welcome to the Literature Club! It's always been a dream of mine to make something special out of the things I love. Now that you're a club member, you can help me make that dream come true in this cute game!

Every day is full of chit-chat and fun activities with all of my adorable and unique club members:

 _Sayori_ , the youthful bundle of sunshine who values happiness the most;

 _Natsuki_ , the deceivingly cute girl who packs an assertive punch;

 _Yuri,_ the timid and mysterious one who finds comfort in the world of books;

...And, of course, _Monika_ , the leader of the club! That's me!

I'm super excited for you to make friends with everyone and help the Literature Club become a more intimate place for all my members. But I can tell already that you're a sweetheart—will you promise to spend the _most_ time with me?"

"So, is this one of those dating simulators?" Natsuki spoke up, squinting at the text in front of her. Corinne nodded. "Yeah."

"So, wouldn't it be cheating for Monika to tell you to spend the most time with her?" The others let out similar murmurs at this, Monika being quick to defend herself. "Ah, but-" she stammered, "I don't remember writing that!"

"It's okay, Monika." Sayori smiled at the club leader, "I'm sure you wouldn't really say anything like that anyways!"

"Besides, apparently this game contains some really _dark_ stuff," Yuri stated upon reading the warnings, about to make another search for a video of the gameplay, only for Corinne and Mark to stop her. Yuri tried to get past them, but they only made their line of defense wider.

"A-Ah, I think that's enough for today." Mark quickly turned the computer off; he didn't want any of the girls to see themselves being murdered, deleted, or worse. Corinne was just as nervous. "Y-Yeah, we should just get you settled in her first."

"Do we have any ropes or knives here?" Mark whispered to Corinne, concerned for if the girls would even try anything here. Corinne simply shook her head. "We don't have any ropes, but we do have knives." Mark sighed and watched as the girls went off to explore the house.

"Hey, Yuri?"

The tall girl turned around in response, confusion evident on her face. "...Yes?"

"Don't touch the knives. Ever."

"...Okay, then," Yuri nodded and went to explore the bedrooms with Sayori. It was at this time that both siblings let out a sigh of relief, having no idea for what was to come.


	3. chapter 3

Sayori felt whole, even more so than she had been in the Literature Club. Everything felt so three-dimensional, and she could actually feel the texture of the walls, the floor, her clothing and everything else! Instead of the entire world only being flat drawings in a tiny game, it was big and wide and beautiful!

Yuri anxiously followed behind her, looking at the bedrooms with trepidation, the seemingly endless amount of rooms intimidating her for a while.

"What's the matter, Yuri?" Sayori asked, practically bouncing on her feet, "Are you feeling good? Because I sure know _I_ am!"

"It's nothing, I just think this place could use some more bookshelves..." Yuri mumbled, rubbing an old desk with her fingers. Upon seeing a small layer of dust, she quickly shook it up, disgusted. "And a bit of cleaning."

"C'mon, Yuri, this is a new world! We should make the most of it!" Sayori grinned, doing a cartwheel until she slammed into a wall. "This place is so wide, so open! I've barely been here five seconds and I already love it!" Rubbing her face, she still beamed, happy as ever.

"Did you see that, Yuri? I felt all of that!" She cartwheeled down the corridor again, until she tripped on the stairs and Yuri had to grab her from behind. "I also... felt... the adrenaline from just now..." she groaned, tired already.

Yuri let out a sigh of relief and went down the corridor again, this time holding the peach-haired girl's hand.

Natsuki and Monika surveyed the kitchen, looking around for anything new. Reaching out, Natsuki touched a spoon, its smooth and slender figure in her hands an entirely new sensation.

"Hey, Monika?" Natsuki asked the club leader, who was currently lost in thought.

"Monika?" The pink-haired tsundere's words were lost in Monika's mind, as she was still thinking about everything. How would the girls ever react if they found out that she knew about the game and deleted them all in an alternate timeline? Thank goodness she had managed to convince them otherwise - if they ever found out that would be a whole other situation she wasn't ready for.

"Monika!"

In an instant, shshe snapped out of her state, turning to look at Natsuki blankly.

"Oh, sorry, I was just lost in thought." she sweated a little, hoping Natsuki wasn't onto her. "You know... since our entire world is a game?" Natsuki went a little stiff, before putting the spoon down and speaking in a much softer voice.

"Yeah... apparently Yuri said it contained dark stuff but Corinne and Mark didn't let her search it up."

"Well, even if it was a game, you still feel like the best friend I could ever have." Monika smiled, knowing that Natsuki and the others felt more real and happy now they were in the players' reality. Natsuki smiled too, feeling more whole and at peace.

"Thanks, Monika. I guess it's the same for you and everyone else..." she grinned, before realising the possible implications of what she had just said. "D-Don't get the wrong idea! It's just that I'm... happy being friends, that's all." Monika only giggled a little. "Okay, whatever you say, Natsuki."

"So, maybe if Corinne and Mark aren't there, we could-"

"Don't even think about it."

Both Natsuki and Monika jumped to see Corinne in the doorway. A stern look was on her face, but you could tell she didn't mean any harm. Natsuki quickly tried to look casual, but she wasn't fooled.

"Look, guys, as much as you want to see the game, you can't do it. Dark stuff is in there, and _I mean_ dark stuff. So just stay away from it, okay?"

"But we can handle ourselves! If you just let us have a peek, then we won't scream or whatever!" "That was what Mark said on our first run. It didn't end well." Corinne deadpanned, before shifting to a more sorrowful look. Monika, however, was sweating. A lot.

"The point is, that game isn't good at all. I just... can't let you. Sorry."

Monika watched as Natsuki processed the information, before nodding in agreement. "Okay." she said, thoughtfully. "If it really makes you that worried... then I'll stop pressing forward."

"Thank you." said Corinne, letting out a sigh of relief. "Hey, speaking of the game... you've all been wearing the same clothes for like, three hours."

Natsuki and Monika immediately stopped and looked down, their neatly buttoned uniform unlike someone else's (ahem, Sayori) still on from when they had been taken into a new reality.

"Should we go clothes shopping tomorrow, then? Because we can't really stay like that for two days..." Monika trailed off, still tugging at her blazer.

Since the game was full of different files and images, there was a whole array of things to tamper with. However, for some reason, Monika didn't have a sprite in an outfit outside of her school uniform. All the others had sprites for their casual outfits, but not her... strange.

"I think we left all our stuff at home..." Natsuki wondered, before rushing to the computer to desperately look for her outfits.

"Natsuki, you can't just get your sprites out of the computer, you know." Corinne reached out to stop her, but Natsuki was already searching 'Natsuki' into Google.

"Natsuki, you can't just type in 'Natsuki", it needs to be more speci-"

"Oh, right... We're not in the computer anymore..." she visibly shrunk, before getting up and sighing. "Maybe we should just go shopping tomorrow."

"Yeah, we can just visit the city and-" Corinne was interrupted by a huge crash as Sayori fell down the stairs, Yuri's frustrated scream coming right after.

"Don't worry, I'm okay!" she put a thumbs up from where she was faceplanted on the ground.

Corinne only sighed and slumped to the ground. This was gonna take a while...


	4. chapter 4

"Morning, Yuri..." Mark yawned, stepping into the kitchen, until noticing what the shy girl was doing. "Wait, Yuri?!"

Yuri in question had retrieved a knife from the drawer and was cutting onions, tears prickling her eyes. If you didn't see the onions and only saw Yuri cutting something like Mark did, that would be a dangerous situation.

"YURI WHAT THE-" Mark bolted towards her and practically threw the knife into the nearest wall, its sharp blade cutting through it and leaving a dent when Monika, who had wondered what the commotion was about and had stumbled into the kitchen, pulled it out. Yuri was trembling in her spot, her eyes widened and still filled with tears from the onions - until she realised what she was doing.

"Oh... the knives..." she said to herself, before stepping away from the onions and watching as Monika slid the knife back into the drawer, guarding it like a cat on its favourite piece of furniture. "But I wasn't cutting the wrong thing..."

"Wrong thing?" Monika stared at her, before memories came back from her time in the game... it was implied that Yuri _did_ cut something she shouldn't... hence the reason she always wore long sleeves. "Oh... I get it."

Yuri jumped and turned to Monika, surprised she would even know that she was doing that... was she doing it too? Did she experience a friend who did that before? Or... was there a bigger layer to all this? She was always more quiet than before the week before Sayori was going to introduce the new member of the club

.. did she know something?

Monika seemed to pause, her eyes widening as if she had said too much. "I mean... yeah, other foods aren't as tear-inducing for whatever breakfast you were making."

Yuri only raised an eyebrow, before Mark only sighed and dragged her out of the kitchen. "Look, Yuri. Just don't ever touch the knives ever. Dear God, just never touch them."

"I won't-"

"As a matter of fact, don't touch any things that could impale or kill you. And _don't_ get any ideas!" He made an 'I'm Watching You' gesture, before leaving to the living room. Yuri only stood there in confusion, until Monika gently pushed past her, Corinne appearing a few seconds later and staring at the two of them.

"For goodness sake, wake up, you dummy!" Natsuki shook Sayori in her bed, but it was no use. The peach-haired girl was sleeping like a baby, and it certainly didn't help that she snored. Due to the fact that there were only two rooms and two beds for Corinne and Mark, the Literature Club resorted to having sleeping bags, sharing a bed or sleeping on the floor. Sayori had chosen a sleeping bag in Corinne's room, but that didn't mean Natsuki still couldn't hear her ominous sleep-talking. For such a sweet and bubbly girl, she talked about the weirdest things at night... rope and teddy bears? Those subjects didn't even mix.

"Wake up, Sayor-" She was stopped by the girl pushing her cheek away, mumbling something about knives and 'the only true lover'. Frustrated, she tried slapping the girl, hoping she would wake up, but Sayori took a hold of her face and started grabbing at it, making Natsuki howl in pain and tumble away from her.

As if on cue, Sayori immediately woke up, looking around to see Natsuki trembling and clawing at her face in pain.

"Natsuki, are you okay? Is it morning already?" she asked innocently.

"That was _short_ for you?" Natsuki groaned from where she was on the floor. "Corinne already told us to come with her in town 10 minutes ago! You overslept again, dummy!"

"Oh..." Sayori rubbed her eyes, still processing that sentence. "Oh."

After Sayori had ran down the stairs (and fallen down them for the sixth time that week) they had all entered town, some people staring at them strangely before running away, and blinking at them, which wasn't a surprise given they were anime characters from the creepiest game in the universe. Most people were sending Monika judgemental looks however, as she was the tallest in the Literature Club and looked even more freakishly tall in a different reality.

"And, we're here!" Mark smiled, looking at the club members to see their reactions. Natsuki was staring at the superstore as if it was a barn, Yuri was looking around in curiosity, Sayori was beaming and taking it all in, and Monika... she just looked teary-eyed.

Being in an entirely new reality was amazing, but a whole new world with new tastes and people was beautiful. She finally felt like a real person; not trapped in some game.

"Feel free to buy whatever you want; just don't touch any weapons or things that could kill you, like rope or knives or things that could snap your neck or something, just don't touch those." Mark continued, before running after Sayori as she left to look for some clothes, keeping an eye on her.

Natsuki left to browse some clothes and supplies too; leaving Corinne, Yuri and Monika. Yuri kept glancing at Monika occasionally, thinking about what she had 'said' on the downloads page...

 _"Will you promise to spend the most time with me?"_

The thought of that still haunted her, but she was interrupted when Corinne pulled her to a clothing section. Sayori and Mark could be seen nearby, the former pointing rapidly at a pink top on one of the hangers.

 _Hangers... HAPPY THOUGHTS HXPPY THOUGHTS-_

"Yuri!" Corinne's voice rang out nearby, but Yuri couldn't move. So much data was coursing through her veins - she felt like she was on fire. Multiple images of sprites and backgrounds zoomed in her mind, until a particular one came rushing at her, of Sayori hanging from a noose; her eyes dead, blood on her hands from clawing at her neck, her shirt slipping off her shoulder at one side, and all in all, a terrible sight to look at.

 _This is why they wanted to protect me... they wanted to hide me from this... make it stop, make it stop!_

"YURI!"

At once, she snapped out of her state and looked around frantically, scanning over the worried faces of everyone else before settling on Sayori, a couple shopping bags in her clean, _clean_ hands.

Tears prickled her eyes, and before she knew it, she was a sobbing mess, throwing her arms around the vice president of the Literature Club, telling her over and over how she was so worried, and how she never had to do that again, ever. Monika was watching warily, until she heard Yuri mention hanging and immediately left the scene, to go home no doubt. Natsuki was nearby too, and couldn't help but notice Monika leaving, taking her hand befire she could go any further.

"Monika."

The club president looked back, stiffening upon seeing Natsuki.

"What are you leaving for? Is it because of Yuri?"

"Well, it's not-" Monika stopped herself on instinct, before sighing, "There are just some things you don't understand, Natsuki.

"But I know our world is a game, I-I know that we live in a computer, but I just... you can tell me anything.

Monika turned back to Natsuki once more, before shaking her head and pulling her hand away, running down the road, leaving Natsuki clueless.


	5. chapter 5

Yuri stared blankly at the paper in front of her. Monika had suggested that the Literature Club write poems to calm the mood after the events of yesterday, Natsuki and Sayori looking at her warily before leaving to write theirs.

Normally when she was stressed or embarrassed, she'd express her feelings through poetry. But this time there were too many things to possibly write about... the game, the sprites, Monika, Sayori... oh lord, Sayori... She gripped the pen even tighter, the purple ink flowing down into a dark puddle on the paper as she wrote, images of ropes and choking and tears transferred onto the page.

The only thing calming her was the feeling of her pen, the main character's pen she had found in her pocket somehow, making neat calligraphy on the paper, thoughts and feelings pouring out. Ropes, Sayori, Monika... Natsuki, the main character... this random reality they had all been thrown into... it was _scary._ She gazed down at her poem once more, before writing the title, not even a proper punctuation mark in place.

 _delete me,_ it said.

Satisfied, she laid back on the bed and hugged herself, feeling the long lavender blouse and coffee-coloured skirt that Corinne had bought for her only the day before. It reminded her of blackberries, and how they tasted on a summer day... maybe she could write a poem about that next time. Her long purple hair had been tied into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way, and black flats were on her feet, kicking a little as she stared into space.

Was there more to life than just poetry?

Was there more to life than just _Monika?_ "Okay, everyone! Do you all have your poems?" Monika said in a cheery voice that almost felt fake, as the rest of the Literature Club thought back to all their previous meetings. Monika had always spoken in that voice... why did it only sound fake now?

"Mine's right here," Sayori smiled, looking over at Yuri who looked lost in thought. When Yuri looked back, she quickly turned away, embarrassed.

"I already wrote mine." Natsuki presented hers, before putting it down. Yuri only nodded in response to Monika's question, and once Sayori and Natsuki left to go review each other's poetry, she immediately headed towards Monika, who had disregarded her fake smile and was sitting in a corner, staring into space.

"H-Hello, Monika."

The club president nearly jumped out of her skin, but soon calmed herself once she saw it was only Yuri. Instantly, she put on her fake smile, so wide it hurt to even keep it up.

"Monika, are you _okay?_ " Yuri stepped closer, the girl in front of her staring back in confusion. "You just left yesterday and now your smile seems... _fake_ but I don't mean any harm I just wanted to ask and... well, I was just asking."

"...Yeah, I'm fine as usu-"

"Please, Monika... don't lie to me. You can tell me anything."

Monika looked down at the floor, before stuffing the poem in Yuri's face and running upstairs, leaving Yuri and the others to process what had just happened before they bolted up the stairs too, Sayori hurrying after them but tripping over a little on the first few steps. Natsuki only sighed and carried her up, while Yuri chased after Monika, who upon seeing them give chase, hid in the bathroom and barricaded the door behind her.

"MONIKA! GET OUT OF THERE!" Yuri yelled so loud that Natsuki and Sayori jumped, not knowing she could ever raise her voice to such a volume. "PLEASE, MONIKA!" A small grunt could be

"Stop it, Yuri..." Natsuki tried to push her away, but Yuri was pounding on the door so hard and screaming so loud that she had to cover her ears; memories were flooding back, of her dad, the bruises, how short she was, the malnourishment... they certainly weren't good ones.

Sayori was trying to pull Yuri back from how loud she was screaming, but was distracted by Natsuki abruptly stopping in the middle of her sentence and covering her ears, slumping to the floor and making a terrible keening sound as she shook in fear and sadness, memories flooding back just like the tears out of her eyes. Immediately, she grabbed Yuri and practically tore her away from the door with inhuman strength, the purple-haired girl slamming into the wall before running back downstairs to retrieve something.

The peach-haired let out a sigh of relief and went to comfort Natsuki but to no avail, as the tsundere was curled up in a ball, hands clasped on her ears, that keening sound getting louder by the second, rocking back and forth against the wall. Sayori didn't know what to do - she had always wanted to make others happy rather than herself because of her depression - but now she was failing miserably.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as Yuri charged upstairs with a _knife_ and thrust it into the door, letting out a battle cry as splinters of wood flew everywhere, Natsuki still crying as Sayori shielded her from the rain of wood, practically pleading for Yuri to stop, the girl still throwing her knife into the door before it was almost obliterated.

With a sickening crunch, the door practically burst off its hinges as Yuri dealt the final blow, Sayori let out one final shout of protest, and Natsuki snapped out of her funk as she saw Sayori's concerned face. They all surveyed the scene of the bathroom; various shelves, soaps, shards of a mirror and even the shower head lay scattered about. Right in the middle of it was Monika, who had jumped out the window just in time for the others to see her doing it.

They all just stood there, dumbfounded - until Yuri let out another battle cry and jumped out the window in pursuit, Sayori and Natsuki having no choice but to follow.

"The things we get up to sometimes..." was the only thing Sayori said before she jumped out the window, some glass shards ripping her pink t-shirt a little in the process.


	6. chapter 6

Monika ran as fast as she could. She didn't know where she was going; only that she needed to get out of this reality and nothing else.

Yuri's enraged shout sounded down the road behind her, making her heart skip a beat. She had known about the girl's yandere tendencies, when she had 'adjusted' them to make her less likable for the MC, it had resulted in Yuri stabbing herself to death by her own hand. Part of her wished she could do that again, to make things less difficult... but part of her didn't want to do that because she _did_ care for the Literature Club, and the members were her own friends.

Monika kept running, feeling a presence behind her, before two cries came from behind her and a knife barely missed slicing her head open as it zoomed past.

Monika hesitantly looked back, still running.

 _Big mistake._

Natsuki was wiping tears from her eyes, though streaks were still showing in the sunlight; maybe she had made the whimpering sound she had heard behind the door - Sayori was staying close to her, occasionally checking to see if she was okay before calling Monika's name and trying to reason with her - but the most terrible sight of all was _Yuri_ , her hair a purple mess, looking like the goddess of rage as she let out a yell, readying more knifes.

Monika quickly turned and ran even faster than she thought she was able to - she hadn't even been in this reality five days and already it was going downhill.

This was for their own good - she deleted them, she ruined the game - and now she had to leave. Everything would be okay if she wasn't around them.

The familiar clatter of a knife reached her ears, making her only run faster. Yuri and the others slowly got more tired, but Monika still kept going. She needed to get out of here. She needed to leave.

Finding a dumpster nearby, she reluctantly jumped into it despite the smell of trash and fast food. The pitter-patter of footsteps that weren't hers came to a stop nearby, before someone spoke; Yuri, whose voice was more raspy than usual.

"I _know_ you're there, Monika..." she growled, pointing her knife around the scene. "We just wanna talk."

"Y-Yeah, what she said!" Natsuki added, nodding quickly. "We just want to find out why you're so sad... we won't laugh, I promise!"

"Please, Monika..." Sayori was next, scanning the place for any signs of the club leader. "It's okay to be sad... sometimes the rainclouds don't go away... I feel like I've experienced that somehow, but I don't remember..."

That made Monika feel even worse... but she was stopped from thinking when Yuri spoke again, more gentle this time.

"Look, Monika... you're one of my best friends. You helped me discover my love for literature... can't you just tell us?" she lowered the knife, dropping it with a hollow clatter, slumping to the ground and sobbing. "What's so miserable that you can't even tell your own best friends?"

Monika still stayed in the dumpster sadly, before making a decision. Reluctantly, she clambered out of the dumpster, the others turning to meet her, Yuri looking upwards as she just stood there with a hollow look.

"You _really_ want to know the truth, don't you?"

The others only nodded in desperation and sympathy, before noticing the glitches and colours at Monika's feet, creeping up before the area from her waist down was completely glitched out.

"Well then, all you have to do is look at the gameplay." she sighed, already turning to leave. "You'll all be creeped out and start to hate me, but you'll finally know the reason why. I hope you're happy now."

The club members just stood there as their leader left, completely broken and covered in trash. Sayori, however, made one last effort to reach out to her;

"But, Monika-"

"You don't deserve me. You don't deserve any of this trauma. Goodbye, Sayori."

"Monika, wait! We can-"

"Goodbye, Corinne. Goodbye, Mark."

"Please, Monika-"

"Goodbye, life. Goodbye, Literature Club."

And with that, she picked up one of the knives Yuri had taken earlier. The club members' eyes widened, instantly stiffening as their leader proceeded to stab herself, a wide grin and tears on her face, much like Yuri had done in a previous run.

They all watched as Monika fell to the floor, dead. Sayori was shaking in fear, clutching her hair as her eyes went dull, before screaming in the most terrible pain. Natsuki watched Monika's corpse, before vomiting on the spot and running away. And Yuri? Yuri only looked at Monika, patting Sayori on the back, frozen in shock and fear and pain.

 _Error; file missing: monika.chr._

 _Searching for monika.chr..._

 _No results._

 _Do you wish to try again?_

 _[YES]_

 _Searching for monika.chr..._

 _File not found. Monika.chr deleted._

 _See file JUSTMONIKA.log for reports._

 _monika.chr not available..._

 _REPAIRING FILE 'ddlc.exe'..._

 _2%..._

 _67%..._

 _100%..._

 _REBOOTING FILES 'sayori.chr', 'natsuki.chr', 'yuri.chr'._

"What the..." Corinne frowned upon seeing the mess of the house in front of her. Several shards were littered across the bathroom, knives were everywhere, and the girls were nowhere to be found.

"Monika's not there anymore!" Mark's voice rang out through the house, prompting Corinne to see what all the commotion was about. She gasped upon seeing the sight in front of her; Monika's file had been deleted.

"But how did-" Corinne wondered before several sparks, glitches and sounds came from the computer, and Yuri, Natsuki and Sayori tumbled out, Monika coming after a few seconds later.

They instinctively looked around in fear, before seeing Monika standing there.

"MONIKA!" They all cried at once, throwing their arms around the club leader. Monika only stood there in confusion, seeing familiar faces but not knowing what had happened. Why wasn't she deleted?

"But... I should have been deleted, I-" she stammered. "I don't understand..."

"But what happened to the bathroom?" Corinne objected, hands on her hips. "And Yuri, I thought I told you not to touch the knives!"

"But Monika stabbed herself! She told us to look at the gameplay, and..." Natsuki trailed off upon realising what she had just said.

Corinne's eye twitched, before she sighed. "Well, we might as well just show you..."


End file.
